Ontario Microgrid Demonstration Project to Help Address Growing Demand for Electricity

GE and PowerStream Inc. have launched their first joint microgrid demonstration project, located at PowerStream’s headquarters in Vaughan, Ontario. The project will demonstrate how energy consumers and utilities may be able to generate and distribute their own energy using renewable energy resources to address the growing demand for safe, sustainable and reliable energy resources.

For the project, GE provided its Grid IQ Microgrid Control System (MCS), as well as the engineering design services, to help PowerStream build a microgrid, which uses renewable energy resources (wind, solar), a natural-gas generator and energy storage devices (including GE’s Durathon Battery technology) to provide electricity for loads at its head office including lighting, air conditioning, refrigeration and electric vehicle charging. Using the MCS, PowerStream can determine when it is most economical to use the resources powering its microgrid or when they need to revert to using power from the provincial power grid.

PowerStream’s microgrid demonstration project marks the next phase of the company’s efforts to support smart grid development at the provincial level and leverage “smart” technologies in Ontario’s electricity sector.